Labor Standards and South Korean Employment Practices in North Korea

Filed Under: Development, Economy, Events, North Korea, Social Issues, South Korea, U.S.-ROK relations, Events

By 2012, South Korean firms employed more than 50,000 workers in North Korea. In a new USKI report by Marcus Noland, Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, that examines whether the employment practices of these South Korean firms are likely to encourage North Korean economic transition.

Survey data indicate that the North Korean government has successfully circumscribed exposure of North Korean citizens both to South Koreans and to more market-oriented economic practices. South Korean investment in North Korea may well be beneficial both for the firms and the workers involved, but evidence of the sort of broader spillovers that proponents of engagement sometimes assert is not evident. The possibility of using voluntary labor codes to promote transformation is then examined.

Join USKI for a discussion of “Labor Standards and South Korean Employment Practices in North Korea,” featuring Marcus Noland, and discussant, Keith Krulak.

Copies of the report will be available at the event.

March 11, 2014
10:00 – 11:30 am
Bernstein-Offit Building, Room 500
1717 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036
Seating in limited, please RSVP below.  

Video of the event can be viewed here: